Oonagh Smyth: celebrating the social care workforce

Our CEO Oonagh Smyth reflects on what we’ve learnt about people working in adult social care during the pandemic and what’s next for the sector as we enter a period of significant reform.

Last month 22 partners came together to create a national day of remembrance and reflection to mark the two years since we began to hear about a potentially dangerous virus called COVID-19.

On behalf of the partnership, I was honoured to host that event to remember the sacrifice of 969 social care workers who lost their lives during the pandemic, and to reflect on the incredible professionalism of the 1.5 million people working in social care who supported people in our communities and their families during the most difficult circumstances any of us have ever seen.

We had a range of speakers from across the sector, including the Care Minister Gillian Keegan MP, remembering how people working in social care worked so hard to keep people who draw on their service safe and well.

The most moving part of the event was a short film that heard from people working in social care and drawing on social care about their experiences during the pandemic. Please take some time to watch this film as it is a reminder of how values driven and committed people working in social care are.

The raw testimony from a range of care professionals - from a chef to a service owner - really drove home just how tough the last two years have been. Equally, it was an insight into the power of teamwork in social care, and the intense pride our workforce feels in stepping up during a national and global crisis.

That’s why throughout April Skills for Care is running a #CelebratingSocialCare campaign. We want people across the sector to be able to reflect on their experiences during the pandemic and celebrate what we’ve achieved together over the past two years.

Thinking back to the day of remembrance and reflection it struck me that as well as dealing with the changes as a result of a pandemic, we have to look forward. We must make sure that the sacrifices and dedication of our workforce were all worthwhile and the positive changes that we have seen over the last few years are not lost.

Throughout the pandemic the British public have developed a greater understanding of what social care is and the added value it brings to individuals and communities. But we saw from the recent British Attitudes Survey that they are also worried about social care.

They saw people who work in social care putting on their PPE kits so they could safely continue to support people. They saw care staff using technology to link people who draw on services the outside world. Many families who employ personal assistants relied on their skills to live as normal a life as possible in a restricted world. Those with loved ones who draw on support in community settings saw the lengths care workers went to keep much needed routines going to support people’s mental health as much as their physical needs.

That’s why we’re putting the adult social care workforce front and centre in the debates around recent policy announcements like the ‘People at the heart of social care’ white paper, and the recent integration white paper published by the government which seeks to make it so people who draw on services only have to tell their story once.

We recognise we have much more work to make decision makers and the public value the 1.5 million strong adult social workforce in different ways, including their terms and conditions. Our national Accolades awards rewarding excellence in developing the skills and knowledge of people work in care have helped with that process.

But many who work in care still don’t feel recognised and valued, and although they really don’t want to go, they’re thinking about leaving jobs and people they love.

Effective leadership will be critical in retaining these workers who we can ill afford to lose. The idea of compassionate leadership is an area we’re actively developing on our website and through our networks.

Compassionate leadership is all about creating workplace cultures that make a difference to workforce wellbeing by creating a safe and supportive working environment. Doing this in workplaces across the country will be vital in the coming months, and we have videos from people working in social care to help employers and their teams think about how compassionate leadership could work for them.

We also know from our Secrets of Success research that employers with the lowest turnover rates are organisations that live their values, organisations where people working in social care feel that they are involved in decision-making and are appreciated. If you are reading this as a manager, employer, or leader we hope you will take the opportunity presented in this month to keep celebrating and appreciating your colleagues and people who work in social care beyond your organisation.

We know from feedback how tough it’s been for leaders during the pandemic so we will continue to support our growing Registered Managers Networks who have offered this key group of leaders time and space during the pandemic to share their experience, or just vent. That support will be even more vital in the coming months.

Our Assessed and Supported Year in Employment continues to give newly qualified social workers time and space to negotiate their demanding first year in practice.

Leaders working in social care from ethnic minority backgrounds have told us that they don’t have the same opportunities as others and often feel discriminated against in their development. That’s why we’ve also brought back our popular Moving Up programme to support aspiring care managers from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds to achieve their career aspirations.

All this is underpinned by our team of locality managers who have spent the last two years supporting care organisations in their areas and are already working with employers as we finally see some light at the end of the tunnel.

I hope as many of possible will get involved with the #CelebratingSocialCare campaign and here’s some of ways you can do that:

• Download and share our social media pictures to show you’re #CelebratingSocialCare

• Post thank you messages on social media to your colleagues, tagging them and using the hashtag #CelebratingSocialCare

• Share your good news stories and stories of success throughout COVID-19 using the hashtag #CelebratingSocialCare

• Record a short video of yourself paying tribute to the hard work of your teams – don’t forget the hashtag #CelebratingSocialCare

• Encourage your teams to post their own messages of thanks to colleagues and ask them to use the hashtag #CelebratingSocialCare

• Share photos of your team and give them a public shout out for their amazing work – include #CelebratingSocialCare so we can see them too

Find out more about our #CelebratingSocialCare spotlight.

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